Not So New Bike

This is the Jekyll after a couple of upgrades:
* 2009 Lefty push-button lockout 130mm travel air fork
* Manitou Swinger 3-way air shock
* DMR 31.8mm bars and matchng stem
* Bontrager tubeless conversion to the Mavic XM117 wheelset for general trail use
* Maxxis Ignitor 2.35s UST.

Rest of componentry is stock:
XT rear derailleur
LX front derailleur
LX dual-control shifters and hydraulic brakes
Truvativ crank

Much prefer dual-control. Much easier to work with, and shifting and braking at the same time is quite intuitive, safe and easy.
The old-school Maxxis tubeless weigh a ton - but for general trail use I suppose the training effect will be beneficial.

The Bontrager tubeless conversion was amazingly easy to get on with. Didn't even need to use the usual soapy water trick to get the bead to seal / pop into place. The kit consists of a teflony-feeling moulded plastic insert that seems to roughly mimic the UST profile when installed, and a Presta valve that will fit both Schrader and Presta rims, depending on which way up you put the knurled valve nut.

I was concerned when installing that the plastic strip didn't properly go under the bead lip all the way around, but inflating the tyres up to 60psi when popping the bead soon fixed that. Didn't even need Stans sealant.